KIMMOOOOOOO!! Nothing made me more happier on Monday night than watching Kimmo graciously lift the cup over his head in absolute euphoria. The thing he's been working for his entire life which had eluded him up until now is finally his. He can finally call himself a champion. After a wonderful career in which he was a 5 time all-star (probably would have been a 6th if there was no lockout) along with 8 seasons of 40+ points, which is a remarkable feat for a defenseman who played in his own end just as well as anybody in the league in his prime. He will without a doubt be a future Flyers hall of famer and it's been an absolute pleasure to watch him play 7 seasons in the orange and black. It's still so disheartening to think what could have been if Pronger wasn't hurt in his 2nd season with the Flyers and then of course never took that high stick in his 3rd season that ended up being his ultimate demise. A defense anchored by Timonen & Pronger (which were only together fully for the 2010 cup run) for the last 4-5 seasons could've maybe finally ended the cup drought.
Now that I just made you shed a tear with the paragraph above, lets flip the switch and take a look at this ever so important upcoming NHL Draft on June 26th. As you all know the Flyers hold the 7th and 29th overall picks in a draft scouts are saying could be as deep as any in history. A talent pool that rivals drafts from the early 90's and the 2003 draft. Whoever the Flyers do take at 7 (granted they don't move up or down) will show us exactly the type of plan Hextall has in place. He now has his coach that's going to employ the system he wants (looking at last years draft picks there was a heavy emphasis on speed and skill both at forward and defense) and it's now up to him to continue to identify those players he sees are perfect fits to his system. With having barely no money to spend last summer he went out and brought in a few low-cost forwards in Bellemare and Ryan White who both play a fast and hard-nosed game of hockey. However not the most skilled (can only do so much with no cap space) he identified a few players that wouldn't cost much towards the cap but had enough skill and speed to make an impact on the bottom 6 forward group.
Which brings us to who might be available when it's the Flyers turn to select at pick 7 on June 26th. The consensus top 5 seems to be in order of Mcdavid, Eichel, Strome, Marner, and Hanifin. With the top 2 already etched in stone picks 3-5 are basically toss ups. However it's the prospects in the 6-12 range that are so close in their projected rankings that it's anyone's guess which team covets which players the most. I for one am confident that if WHL defenseman Ivan Provorov is there at 7 Hextall will pull the trigger. He will not hesitate to take an ultra-talented defenseman such as Provorov just because the Flyers are stacked with defensive prospects at the time being. Regardless of how much hype surrounds Sanheim, Morin, and Ghost it's just as likely all 3 of them never amount to anything at the pro level as it is all 3 of them becoming impact players. There's no guarantee in sports which is why all GM's (smart ones at least) go the best player available route when it comes to drafting 18 year old kids. Teams want to stockpile the best talent they can regardless of their needs at the pro level or whatever kind of prospects they currently have. The bottom line is it's impossible to project how an 18 year kid will develop. Provorov would immediately jump to the top of the Flyers prospect pool and would arguably be the most defensive ready prospect as well. I don't see how he could fall to 7 but if he does Hextall might be doing cartwheels and backflips on his way up to the podium to select him. He's that good. To find out more about him follow the link here http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=98875&tab=prf
It's going to be a long off-season so make sure to follow Broad Street Sports on Twitter @Broad_StSports for the latest Flyers/NHL updates and articles to cure your hockey blues.
Look out for future articles regarding the Flyers young talent under 25 as Broad Street Sports will break down what their futures will look like in the orange and black.
Now that I just made you shed a tear with the paragraph above, lets flip the switch and take a look at this ever so important upcoming NHL Draft on June 26th. As you all know the Flyers hold the 7th and 29th overall picks in a draft scouts are saying could be as deep as any in history. A talent pool that rivals drafts from the early 90's and the 2003 draft. Whoever the Flyers do take at 7 (granted they don't move up or down) will show us exactly the type of plan Hextall has in place. He now has his coach that's going to employ the system he wants (looking at last years draft picks there was a heavy emphasis on speed and skill both at forward and defense) and it's now up to him to continue to identify those players he sees are perfect fits to his system. With having barely no money to spend last summer he went out and brought in a few low-cost forwards in Bellemare and Ryan White who both play a fast and hard-nosed game of hockey. However not the most skilled (can only do so much with no cap space) he identified a few players that wouldn't cost much towards the cap but had enough skill and speed to make an impact on the bottom 6 forward group.
Which brings us to who might be available when it's the Flyers turn to select at pick 7 on June 26th. The consensus top 5 seems to be in order of Mcdavid, Eichel, Strome, Marner, and Hanifin. With the top 2 already etched in stone picks 3-5 are basically toss ups. However it's the prospects in the 6-12 range that are so close in their projected rankings that it's anyone's guess which team covets which players the most. I for one am confident that if WHL defenseman Ivan Provorov is there at 7 Hextall will pull the trigger. He will not hesitate to take an ultra-talented defenseman such as Provorov just because the Flyers are stacked with defensive prospects at the time being. Regardless of how much hype surrounds Sanheim, Morin, and Ghost it's just as likely all 3 of them never amount to anything at the pro level as it is all 3 of them becoming impact players. There's no guarantee in sports which is why all GM's (smart ones at least) go the best player available route when it comes to drafting 18 year old kids. Teams want to stockpile the best talent they can regardless of their needs at the pro level or whatever kind of prospects they currently have. The bottom line is it's impossible to project how an 18 year kid will develop. Provorov would immediately jump to the top of the Flyers prospect pool and would arguably be the most defensive ready prospect as well. I don't see how he could fall to 7 but if he does Hextall might be doing cartwheels and backflips on his way up to the podium to select him. He's that good. To find out more about him follow the link here http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=98875&tab=prf
It's going to be a long off-season so make sure to follow Broad Street Sports on Twitter @Broad_StSports for the latest Flyers/NHL updates and articles to cure your hockey blues.
Look out for future articles regarding the Flyers young talent under 25 as Broad Street Sports will break down what their futures will look like in the orange and black.